Have you ever looked back on an earlier version of yourself and just absolutely hated who you were? You can’t believe you did or said that thing. Can’t even understand how you could have hurt that friend or loved one. Or, maybe you can, which is worse in so many ways. That’s the case for Nick (Vince Vaughn) in Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice. Future Nick, as I’ll refer to him going forward, looks back on Present Nick (also Vaughn, natch) from a few months ago and can’t help but be ashamed.

The evident catalyst is the death of his friend Mike (James Marsden, still sitting on a heater), a fellow gangster in the service of Sosa (Keith David). An accidental encounter with a time machine invented by Symon (Ben Schwartz), his wife Alice’s (Eiza González) eccentric friend, sends Future Nick back to the day of Sosa’s son Jimmy Boy’s (Jimmy Tatro) homecoming party. That also happens to be the day of Mike’s Murder. So, FN sees it as his opportunity to set things right. The only problem? Present Nick, who is still very much the jerk that shames his future self.

It sounds a bit like a Hot Tub Time Machine-style silly high-concept comedy with guns. It, however, is not. Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is certainly fun. It isn’t any sort of deep contemplation of existentialism or man’s tragic shortcomings. It is, however, much gentler than one might expect, with Vaughn running somewhere around a 6, with surprisingly fruitful results. Well, gentle for a movie that ends with a bloody and protracted firefight, anyway.

Writer-Director BenDavid Grabinski and Cinematographer Larry Fong set the tone immediately with an opener featuring Schwartz dancing through his lab to, of all things, the Billy Joel tune “Why Should I Worry” from 1988’s Oliver & Company, a…shall we say…lesser Disney offering. Filmed with visual bombast, it nonetheless manages to keep Schwartz and his “here for a good time” mugging centered. The outcome is an immediate dopamine spike. How the scene ends gives the audience a good sense of the push-and-pull between comedy and action they’re in for.

Grabinski’s direction, at times, feels at odds with his own subject matter. Jittery handheld work, Bay-lite camera rotations, and gratuitous slo-mo clashes with a script that wants to pull the audience closer to the characters. When it does click, though, Grabinski finds some interesting and exciting beats. A messy fight in Present Nick’s house and a quieter, sweeter car ride both immediately come to mind. The director has style. He just needs to modulate it a bit better to fit the content of his work.

On the other hand, he has a strong sense of pacing. Save for the protracted final gun battle, he neither lingers nor rushes through his set pieces. He gives scenes like a discussion between Mike, the two Nicks, and Alice about Gilmore boyfriends time to breathe. But they aren’t just an indulgent pop culture diversion (though I love those too). That scene plays double duty, letting the characters accept the weirdness of their situation and begin to move Present Nick’s attitude closer to where Future Nick has already evolved.

Several supporting characters provided wonderful backup. David is a livewire as the crime boss who is genuinely hungry for blood AND truly loves his son. A later scene between him and Tatro that explains how Saso came to be Jimmy Boy’s dad is wonderful for its mix of sweet and silly. The recurring mention of rats especially hits the funny bone. Arturo Castro as Dumbass Tony is fully in on the silly side and is so good at it. Emily Hampshire, on the other hand, brings a slyer humor and just a touch of flirty heat as a bent cop and ally of Nick’s. Finally, Stephen Root as a notorious cannibal assassin who might have a little more going on is just a treat. I can’t remember the last time Root showed up in something and didn’t make it just that much better for his presence.

The one disappointment about Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is encountering it on streaming. This feels like a movie that would play great in a full auditorium at a 7:30 showing. On Hulu by yourself, it’s still fun, but that communal aspect would give it some extra zing. Alas. Maybe the next time I find a time machine, I can put that on my list of things to change. But don’t worry, it wouldn’t be like first or second. Top 15?

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice violates all the laws of physics now on Hulu.

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice Trailer: